Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 135

"I know you're attracted to me, Vampire." He laced his fingers around mine, and drawing near, nuzzled my neck.

My heart dropped in my stomach. "And you're gonna use it against me, aren't you?" I whispered.

"If necessary, yes. Listen to my thoughts. Hear me." Michael nibbled on my ear and flicked his tongue in my ear a time or two. "Let me help you."

"Oh no, you don't. I'm not falling for that Jedi mind trick again." I retreated to the other side of the couch and tried to regain control of my breathing.

"Let the angel help you, idiot!" the voice inside my head shrieked.

"With my blood already running in your veins, I can force you to stop when I need you to."

"Force me? What are you talking about? You're not forcing me to do anything!"

"We're connected now." To emphasize his point, Michael invaded my side of the couch, lifted me up and swept me into his lap.

"Oh, wonderful. Now you'll be in my head too?" I pushed at his chest, refusing to acknowledge my instant attraction to him.

"I promise it'll be only when it's necessary. You can hear me if you'd listen. Blick and you can communicate telepathically. All celestial beings can."

"I'm not a celestial being."

"You sure about that? You recognized it the minute we met."

I looked up at him in amazed wonder.

"That's it. Just look at me and when you're ready, we'll begin," Michael said.

"No!" I pounded my fists again his chest. "You're not going to sweet talk me into this. You're lying!"

"You have to, Vampire!" He grabbed me by the shoulders and held me still.

I could see that the color had returned to his cheeks.

"Stop calling me Vampire. I have a name. Besides if I bite you on the neck, others will see it. What about your other wrist? I could bandage it up afterwards and they'll match," I offered matter-of-factly, glancing down at his wrist. Let's see if I can get away from him with that story.

He paused for a moment, and then said, "Good point."

I dashed to the front door to make a quick escape.

Michael's footsteps thundered down the hall towards the door.

"You can't move, can you?" he asked. I heard his thought filter into my brain. He wrapped his arms around me. "Perhaps we both have powers the other doesn't fully understand."

I wanted to answer him. Even more, I wanted to lean into him and gather my strength, but I was powerless to move. My mind was locked to his. I was frozen, unable to budge even an inch.

He kissed me on the top of my head. "I knew you'd be the one." Then, without warning, he released me from the mental hold he had on me.

I stumbled, then turning on my heel, faced him.

"Do you trust me?" His lips did not move.

"Do I have a choice?" I responded, sending out the telepathic thought like a dagger.

He returned my insult by patting me on the head. "Not really," he said aloud. "Rayea? Rayea!"

Before I fell face-first into the stone floor, Michael caught me. The mind meld had been too much for my system. My legs wouldn't hold me. He swept me off my feet and deposited me on the couch.

"Let's do this," he declared.

I stared at him, wis.h.i.+ng I could lose myself again in his blue eyes and forget everything, who I was, where I was, everything. And just let the sea pull me under. Maybe being a vampire was too much for my system to take.

"You're so pale. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have proven my point. You'll be okay. You've gotta be okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I placed my hand on his to quiet him. "Let's do this," I repeated in a broken whisper.

"Okay. Are you ready? Okay, forget that. You're ready. Show me your teeth," he said. "Rayea? RAYEA??!! Nooo!"

I lost consciousness.

The blow to my face revived me and I heard Michael again yelling, "Show me your teeth, Vampire!"

On command, my fangs flipped out from their holding cavity in the roof of my mouth.

The voice inside my head said, "You just sit there, honey. We've got this."

"Holy moly!" Michael said, bracing himself. "Those are some very long faaaa...."

I launched myself on top of him and buried my face in his neck.

He moaned, encircling me in his arms.

I drank from Michael deeply, relis.h.i.+ng in the feeling of his warm blood flowing down my throat. With every drink I took from him, my body returned a thrusting motion against him. I rocked back and forth in his lap, feasting on his blood.

Suddenly he grabbed me by my elbows and held me still on top of him. His chest was rising to and fro. "I want you," he said in a short gasp as he tried to steady his breathing.

Unable to speak, I nodded feverishly. Quickly I retracted my fangs and stood up to undress.

His hand latched around my wrist. The pa.s.sion in his blue eyes halted me from moving any further. Again when our eyes met, I felt a pull from him, some instantaneous connection I didn't understand.

Carefully he ran his fingers down the side of my jogging pants. I closed my eyes as his hands spread across my belly. His touch was light and painfully ticklish. I struggled not to giggle. I bit down on my lip, attempting to remain calm and hide my fangs as his tongue caressed me. Oh my G.o.d, I thought. This is heaven!

"Do you want me, Rayea?" he asked somewhat shyly.

I swallowed hard and looked down at him. His eyes blazed with desire. I sighed when I saw how gorgeous he was.

"Oh yes, Michael," I moaned. "But I'm still hungry. May I? I mean is it okay if I do?" I stopped talking when I realized I was babbling. I couldn't think straight gazing at his beautiful body. He had the body of a golden, Viking warrior.

"Maybe afterwards would be better. You need to drink first," he said as he pulled me down on top of him again into the coolness of the leather couch. He held my face gently in his hands and ran his fingers through my hair. A mischievous grin crossed his face. "Show me your fangs," he whispered.

I let my fangs extend, savoring the moment of being so close to him.

"Drink," he said. "Drink." He leaned one side of his neck in my direction.

Rocking some in his lap, I licked my lips and nodded, still remaining silent. "What if I hurt you?" I finally asked.

Michael shook his head, seductively lowering his eyes at me. "You won't." Then he ran his fingers up the back of my spine.

The tingling sensation from his fingertips forced me to arch my back.

His breath surfaced on my collarbone and I felt the velvet warmth of his kisses. As I moaned loudly and my head fell back, he teasingly kissed the inside of my neck, tempting me. The veins in his neck stood thriving, bursting for attention. Hastily I focused on his radiant blue eyes and I felt a thunderous bolt radiated through me.

A devastatingly handsome smile widened across his face. He moaned softly. "That's it."

My lips brushed across his as he spoke. I wasn't surprised at my own eager response to the touch of his lips. "You're sure?" I whispered. Parting his lips with my tongue, I kissed him lightly.

He raised himself up to meet my kiss. His lips were hard and searching. "Go ahead!" He guided my head into the curve of his neck as he held me in his strong arms.

I plunged my fangs into him. His wonderful, large hands rested on the curves of my waist as I drank from him.

Chapter 11.

Blood Delirium Through the haze of blood delirium, I heard the front door to Blick's home open and close. The sound of distant footsteps grew near. Instinctually I released my fangs from Michael's neck and jumped off the couch. Michael didn't move.

Blick and a man wearing a tan Italian suit -who I a.s.sumed was J- stormed into the living room.

"Where's your computer?" the man asked. We've had another report of an outbrea..."

Both stopped in their tracks when they saw me standing there partially nude in just my gray nylon jogging jacket, splattered in blood. Michael's blood.

"What's going on here?" Blick yelled, rus.h.i.+ng past me.

"She's sucked him dry! Get him to the bedroom now!" the man exclaimed.

Blick picked Michael up, threw him over his shoulders, and followed the man to the bedroom.

I rushed to the terrace to snag a sweats.h.i.+rt and pants. Returning to the living room, I busied myself with cleaning the scene of the crime. He can't die, I repeated to myself over and over.

The voice inside my head rea.s.sured me, "The angel can't die, silly. He said so. Chill out."

"I knew my Ray was a vampire!"

I cursed under my breath when I heard Death's familiar voice.

"What are you doing here?" I exclaimed.

"Just in case," he replied. He paused and didn't say anything else.

A puzzled look crossed my face.

"Hey, you wanna swing into the kitchen and give me a quickie? I don't mind sloppy seconds. You look so s.e.xy all splattered in blood! Having s.e.x with an angel. Shame on you!" He winked at me as a devilish gleam came into his eyes.

"I'm in no mood for your vulgarity!" Then the realization of his presence settled in on me. "Oh no, no, no. Michael won't die. You can't have him!" I yelled, giving him a slap across his arm.

Death silently watched me as I placed a few blankets over the couch. I didn't want to see the blood splatters on the brown leather anymore. For the time being, it was the most cleaning I could do. I collapsed on the couch, feeling defeated.

Finally Blick and the man joined us in the living room. I glanced up at the man with hopeful eyes.

He ignored me.

"Death, thank you for showing up so promptly. I do apologize for the inconvenience. I'll take care of the matter from here," the man said.

"Yes, sir. Thank you. I'll be on my way." With that, Death vanished into a puff of black smoke.

The man shook his head. "I'll need to talk with him about his exit."

Trying to find a way to lighten the mood in the room and confirm, from an earlier conversation with Death, that the man before me was J, I said, "No use of the color black, correct, sir?" I realized we were past formal introductions.

Casually amused, the man chuckled. "Yes, it's so ominous. I told him he needs to work on his product presentation." He removed his Armani suit jacket and tossed it on the couch. I noticed a Bluetooth headset stuck to his left ear. Turning serious, J said to me, "Explain your actions, my dear."

"You attacked him?" Blick interjected.

I was caught off guard by the sudden vibrancy in Blick's voice. "No, no, no. It wasn't like that. I didn't want to drink his blood. We did the red smoothies. Blick, you know. You were here. I thought it would work. But I was still pale and weak and he wouldn't stop bothering me. It was his idea. Wait. No. Strike that. It was my fangs' idea. They have a mind of their own." Pacing back and forth, I tried to process what had happened. I stopped in midstride, placing my hands on my hips, and faced them.

J and Blick exchanged glances, and then focused at me.

"Okay, yes, I realize I'm not making sense. But I didn't want him dead. I didn't want him at all. Okay, wait. That's not true. I didn't want to eat him, ugh, d.a.m.n, I didn't want to kill him!"

"Language!" Blick insisted.

I threw up my hands in despair. "You're impossible! Who cares what language I use if I just killed an angel?!" I stuffed my hands under my legs to keep them from trembling.

J yanked his Bluetooth headset out of his ear. "Can you control her please, Blick? G's listening in on this meeting."

"Is he going to make it?" I blurted out.

"I wanted to ask you why you had that headset in your ear. Why is that, sir?" Blick asked.

"Why is what?"